Homeland Security tied to attempted hack of Georgia's election database: Report

[LeftofObama]

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/08/homeland-security-tied-to-attempted-hack-of-georgias-election-database-report.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cheadline%7Cheadline%7Cstory&par=yahoo&doc=104155534&yptr=yahoo



An attempted hack into Georgia's voter registration database was traced back to the Department of Homeland Security, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

A third-party security firm working for the state detected the unsuccessful breach and linked it to an IP address associated with DHS, the report said. Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp reportedly sent a letter to Homeland Security asking the department to confirm whether an attempt was made.

In his letter, The Wall Street Journal reported, Kemp asked the department to confirm whether a scan attempt was made, who authorized the scan and whether the department was scanning other state systems without authorization.

Leading up to the election, questions were raised about the security of state computer systems that protect voting data. Homeland Security reportedly considered declaring election systems as "critical infrastructure," which would have given the federal agency the authority to protect the systems. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security didn't immediately respond to the publication's request for comment.

[TomVilmer]

1. Finally some real proof...

... about what government is behind all this hacking of elections.

[TwilightZone]

3. Proof of the US attempting to hack elections...

is not proof that other countries aren't doing the same thing.

The concepts are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the opposite would seem obvious. The assertion that it never happens and that it didn't happen this time - a popular one around here lately - seems a tad shortsighted.

[TomVilmer]

4. Of course election tampering can and do happen

This is just the first real proof of a government controlled hacking attempt published in this election - except for all the accusations and rumors. It might be just a White Hat test, but they did not contact the probed database owner about it. And yes, many script kiddies and even foreign governments are doing their stuff too.

As far as I can see, a real U.S. election hacking would be a big noisy operation with thousands of operatives, going directly after the local voting machines for tampering - not an easy task to do undetected. If you just change the numbers higher up, it would show in those recounts and calculation from the lower level.

Earlier on, this was very much possible - but today the internet has given much more transparency. The real problem is the election system itself, only supporting those already in power. And if we keep this to stuff around hacking, the way many voters was kicked of the lists.

And then there is all the others non technical ways to interfere, as shown in my earlier link.